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Jesse Tree - Day 7

posted by Becky Warner
on Wed, 2016-12-07 10:36

Day 7 – Moses & The 10 Commandments

Bible Ref: Exodus 19, Ornament: 10 Commandments

Now you might have heard about the baby who was hidden from the Egyptian soldiers in a basket made of reeds. And you might have heard about how he was rescued by an Egyptian Princess who took care of him, and how he became a Prince of Egypt. You might have even heard about how he led his people out of Egypt and how God parted the Red Sea so they could flee to safety away from the Egyptians. It is a very long story, but for now we pick up the story of Moses in the desert.

The Israelites were finally free. And there they all were. Grannies, grandads, babies, uncles, aunts, children, mums and dads. Out there in the middle of the hot dry desert. They had blisters from all the walking. They were hungry. And thirsty. And much, much too hot.

“We don’t like it!” they grumbled. “It stinks!” (and so did they for that matter, because no-one had had a bath in weeks!)

Now remember – because this is something they had forgotten – God had done amazing things for his people. He’d hidden them inside a cloud. He’d moved the sea. He’d set them free.

But God’s people still weren’t happy. They didn’t care about being free – wasn’t it better when they were slaves? At least they’d had lots of nice food to eat.

“God doesn’t want us to be happy,” they said. It was the same lie that Adam and Eve had heard all those years before. “God has brought us out here to kill us. God doesn’t love us!” But they didn’t know God very well, did they?

Every day of their journey, God kept on showing his people how well He would look after them, if they would trust Him, and obey Him. When they were hungry, God made the sky rain with food – bread coming down from heaven!

When they were thirsty and started quarrelling, God made water flow from a rock.

And still God’s children didn’t trust him or do what he said. They thought they could do a better job of looking after themselves and making themselves happy. But God knew there was no such thing as happiness without Him.

So God led them to a tall mountain. God wanted to talk to His people and show them what He was like. He wanted to help them know him better and tell them about the special land He was going to give them.

“The whole earth belongs to me!” God said. “But I have chosen you – you are my special family. I want you to live in a way that shows everyone else what I’m like - so they can know me, too.”

God called Moses up the mountain. The great mountain shook. A thick cloud fell. Thunder roared. Lightning crackled. And God gave Moses Ten Rules, called “Commandments”.

“I want you to love me more than anything else in all the world – and know that I love you too,” God told them. “That’s the most important thing of all.”

God gave them other rules, like don’t make yourselves pretend gods; don’t kill people; or steal; or lie. The rules showed God’s people how to live, and how to be close to Him, and how to be happy. They showed how life worked best.

“God promises to always look after you,” Moses said. “Will you love Him and keep these rules?”

“We can do it! Yes! We promise!”

But they were wrong. They couldn’t do it. No matter how hard they tried, they could never keep God’s rules all the time.

God knew they couldn’t. And He wanted them to know it too. Only one Person could keep all the rules. And many years later God would send Him – to stand in their place and be perfect for them. Because the rules couldn’t save them. Only God, and His awesome love, could save them.